KR101331694B1 - Mobile communication terminal with movable button portion according to the state of open/close - Google Patents

Abstract

The mobile communication terminal according to the present invention is a slide type mobile communication terminal whose front portion is slidably movable relative to the body portion, wherein the body portion is disposed under the button portion and the lower portion of the button portion with a button actuator protruding from the lower surface, and a switch on the upper surface. A protruding substrate portion is provided, and the button portion or the substrate portion is slidably moved relative to the body portion in association with the slide movement of the front portion. The switch is disposed in parallel with the button actuator in a state in which the front part slides backward to close the body part. In the state in which the front part slides in the front side and the body part is opened, the switch is connected to the button actuator. Vertically arranged in series, the button portion is movable in the vertical direction relative to the body portion in accordance with the opening and closing operation of the front portion.

Description

Mobile communication terminal with a movable button portion according to the state of opening and closing state

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal, and more particularly, to a slide-type mobile communication terminal capable of moving the button portion in the vertical direction according to the open state of the front portion that slides with respect to the body portion.

The mobile communication terminal may be classified into a folder type terminal, a sliding type terminal, a rotating type terminal, a sliding-tilting type terminal, and the like according to its structure. Among them, the slide-type terminal has a relatively simple structure and is widely used because the terminal can be designed to be thin.

In general, the slide-type terminal is provided with a button portion on the body portion, a substrate portion for generating a signal according to the operation of the button portion is provided below the button portion.

The button unit includes a plurality of buttons that can be pressed by the user from the outside, and a button actuator is formed on the lower surface of the button to contact the substrate. The substrate portion is provided with a switch disposed in series perpendicular to the button actuator.

When the user presses the desired button, the button actuator presses a switch at the bottom thereof to electrically short the board to transfer data.

According to the prior art as described above, since the button actuator and the switch, which affects the thickness of the mobile phone, are vertically arranged in series, there is a problem in that the thickness of the terminal becomes thick.

In addition, in order to prevent the button from interfering with the operation of the front part in the operation of opening and closing the body part by sliding the front part, it is necessary to prevent the upper surface of the button from protruding beyond the position of the lower surface of the front part. Therefore, the button unit is inevitably disposed in the state of the body portion, there is a problem that the user's button operability is inferior.

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile communication terminal that can be moved by the button portion protruding or embedded in accordance with the open state of the front portion.

In order to achieve the above object, the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention is a slide type mobile communication terminal whose front part is slidably movable with respect to the body part, wherein the body part has a button part protruding from the lower surface of the button part and the lower part of the button part. It is disposed in the, and has a substrate portion with a switch protruding on the upper surface, the button portion or the substrate portion is slideable relative to the body portion in conjunction with the slide movement of the front portion. In this case, the switch is horizontally disposed in parallel with the button actuator in a state in which the front portion slides to the rear side to close the body portion, and in the state in which the front portion slides to the front side and the body portion is opened, the switch is the button. It is disposed in series perpendicular to the actuator, the button portion is movable in the vertical direction relative to the body portion in accordance with the opening and closing operation of the front portion.

One end of the button part is fixed to the body part, and the substrate part is fixed to be slidably movable with respect to the body part, with respect to the body part in the same direction as the moving direction of the front part in conjunction with the slide movement of the front part. You can also make the slide move.

In addition, the front surface portion is formed to be selectively fastened or detached from the substrate portion, and in a state in which the substrate portion and the front portion is fastened to each other, as the front portion slides, the substrate portion slides in conjunction with the front portion. You can also do that.

In addition, the upper surface of the substrate portion is formed in the coupling body capable of elastic movement in the up and down direction of the body portion, the lower surface of the front portion is formed with a coupling groove to which the assembly can be fastened, the front portion slides in the forward direction to the When the coupling groove is located above the assembly, the assembly is fastened to the coupling groove by elasticity so that the substrate portion is coupled to the front portion, and the front portion is in the front-side direction with the coupling portion coupled to the coupling groove. As the slide continues to move, the substrate portion may slide in conjunction with the front portion.

In addition, the combination may be formed on the upper surface of the front side of the substrate portion, the coupling groove may be formed on the lower surface of the rear side of the front portion.

In addition, the combination is a leaf spring having an inclined portion formed inclined from the front side to the rear side of the body portion, and a support portion extending vertically downward from the end of the inclined portion, the coupling groove is seated in the inclined portion of the combination An inclined surface and a vertical surface on which the support portion is supported, and when the front portion moves to the front side in the state where the assembly is fastened to the coupling groove, the support portion is supported on the vertical surface to maintain the fastening of the coupling member and the coupling groove. When the front portion moves to the rear side, the inclined portion may be pressed by the inclined surface to release the coupling between the coupling member and the coupling groove.

In addition, an elastic body that provides an elastic force in the slide movement direction of the substrate portion is formed on the rear end surface of the substrate portion to contact the inner side wall formed in the body portion, the elastic body in a state in which the front portion fully open the body portion Compressed to store the elastic recovery force, when the front portion is moved to the rear side and the assembly is separated from the coupling groove, the substrate portion may be moved to the rear side by the elastic recovery force.

The slide-type mobile communication terminal may include a sensor configured to determine a state in which the assembly is fastened to the coupling groove, and when it is determined by the sensor that the assembly is fastened to the coupling groove, the mobile terminal. It may be configured to operate the display device of the.

According to the present invention, when the front part is closed, the thickness elements of the button part and the substrate part are disposed in parallel to minimize the thickness of the body part, and when the front part is opened, the button part protrudes from the body part, thereby improving user's operability. .

1 is a plan view of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2A is a side view illustrating a state in which a front part of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is closed with a body part.
FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 2A.
3A is a side view illustrating a state in which the front part of the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 2A partially opens the body.
FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of portion B of FIG. 3A.
4A is a side view illustrating a state in which the front part of the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 2A is completely opened.
FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of portion C of FIG. 4A.
5 is a plan view of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention showing a partial configuration.
6A shows the substrate portion located in the first position.
6B shows the substrate portion moved to the second position.
6C shows the substrate portion returned to the first position.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is described as one embodiment, whereby the technical spirit of the present invention and its core configuration and operation are not limited.

1 is a plan view of a mobile communication terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The mobile communication terminal 10 according to the present embodiment is a slide type terminal, and the front portion 20 is slidably coupled to the body portion 30.

In the present specification, a direction 11 in which the front part 20 moves to close the body part 30 is defined as a “rear side” direction, and a direction in which the front part 20 moves to open the body part 30. (12) is defined in the "front side" direction. For example, in FIG. 1, the "front side" of the front part 20 becomes the upper end side of the front part, and the "rear side" of the front part 20 becomes the lower end side of the front part.

The front panel 20 is provided with a display device 21 for projecting a variety of screens that can be recognized by the user. Various electrical devices are provided in the front part 20, and other button parts may be provided as necessary.

The body portion 30 is formed by exposing the button portion 100 on the upper surface of the body portion 30. The button unit 100 includes a plurality of buttons 101 which can be pressed by a user. The button unit 100 according to the present embodiment is an input device similar to a computer keyboard called Qwerty.

2A is a side view illustrating a state in which the front part 20 of the mobile communication terminal 10 according to the present embodiment has the body part 30 closed, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 2A. . For convenience of description, FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the mobile communication terminal 10 cut in the thickness direction.

As shown in Figure 2a, the body portion 30 has a button portion 100 on its upper surface. The button portion 100 is provided with a plurality of buttons 101. The button actuator 102 protrudes convexly from the lower surface of the button part 100 below each button 101.

In FIG. 2A, the button actuator 102 is illustrated only under one button 101, but for convenience of illustration, corresponding button actuators 102 are formed under all the buttons 101, respectively. . In addition, one end of the button portion 100 is fixed to the bottom surface portion 103.

The substrate unit 200 is disposed below the button unit 100. According to the present embodiment, the substrate unit 200 is a printed circuit board (PCB) electrically connected to other components.

The plurality of switches 201 protrude convexly on the upper surface of the substrate 200. The switch 201 is operated by the corresponding button actuator 102 and used for transferring data, and is formed in the same number as the number of the buttons 101 of the button unit 100. In FIG. 2A, only some switches 201 are shown for convenience of illustration.

In this embodiment, the switch 201 is a metal dome, which is a kind of elastic switch. As will be described later, when the user presses a button in a state in which the switch 201 is disposed in series with the button actuator 102, the button actuator formed under the pressed button presses the switch. The pressed switch shorts the circuit of the substrate to transfer data. Since the switch 201 is elastic, when the user releases the button, the switch 201 also serves as an elastic body that returns the button to its original position.

The substrate part 200 is fixed to the guide 203 formed in the body part 30, and is disposed to be slidably movable in the body part 30. As will be described later, the substrate part 200 is slidably movable in the body part 30 in conjunction with the slide movement of the front part 20.

According to the present embodiment, in the state in which the front part 20 is closing the body part 30, the substrate part 200 is located at the first position, which is the rearmost side in the body part 30.

As shown in detail in FIG. 2B, in a state where the substrate unit 200 is positioned at the first position, the button actuators 102 and the switches 201 corresponding to each other are disposed in parallel to each other. Therefore, the width t formed by the button part 100 and the substrate part 200 is greatly reduced, resulting in a smaller width of the terminal 10.

According to the present embodiment, the front part 20 is formed to be selectively fastened or detached from the substrate part 200. In order to selectively fasten or detach the front part 20 and the substrate part 200, the front part 20 and the substrate part 200 are provided with detachable members, respectively.

Referring again to FIG. 2A, the assembly 210 is formed on the upper surface near the front end of the substrate 200 as a detachable member.

The assembly 210 is a leaf spring having a predetermined width (see FIG. 5), and includes an inclined portion 211 formed to be inclined from the front side to the back side of the substrate portion 20 and downward from an end portion of the inclined portion 211. It consists of a support 212 extending vertically.

As shown in FIG. 2A, while the substrate part 200 is in the first position, the assembly 210 is pressed by the bottom surface of the front part 20 and stores elastic force.

On the other hand, the lower surface near the rear end portion of the front portion 20 is formed with a coupling groove 22 to which the assembly 210 can be fastened as a detachable member. The coupling groove 22 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the coupling body 210, and specifically, the inclined surface 24 on which the inclined portion 211 of the coupling body 210 may be seated, and the support portion 212 may be seated. It has a vertical surface 23 that can be.

3A is a side view illustrating a state in which the front part 20 of the mobile communication terminal 10 of FIG. 2A partially opens the body part 30, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of a portion B of FIG. 3A. For convenience of description, FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the mobile communication terminal 10 cut in the thickness direction.

The user slides the front part 20 forward in order to use the mobile communication terminal 10. At this time, until the coupling groove 22 of the front portion 20 reaches the upper portion of the assembly 210, the assembly 210 is still maintained in the state pressed by the bottom surface of the front portion 20. Since the substrate part 30 is not restrained with respect to the slide movement of the front part 20, the substrate part 30 maintains the first position. Thus, the button actuator 102 and the corresponding switch 201 remain in parallel arrangement, while the button 101 of the button portion 100 is moved to the front portion 20 while the front portion 20 moves. It will not interfere with the movement.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the coupling groove 22 is positioned at the upper portion of the assembly 210 while the front portion 20 slides. As shown in detail in FIG. 3B, when the coupling groove 22 is positioned above the assembly 210, the assembly 210 pressed by the lower surface of the front portion 20 is in the direction of the arrow 13, that is, the upward direction. The elastic movement to the receiving groove 22 is received and fastened to the inside.

In this specification, the position of the front part 20 at the moment when the coupling body 210 is fastened to the coupling groove 22 is defined as "dead point."

While the front portion 20 reaches the dead point in the position where the body portion 30 is closed (see FIG. 2A), the substrate portion 100 is fixed to the first position and the substrate portion 100 fixed to the first position. Is relatively embedded into the body 30.

If the user continues to move the front portion 20 to the front side at the dead point, the substrate portion 200 is drawn to the front portion 20 and slides forward.

Specifically, when the front portion 20 slides forward, the vertical surface 23 of the coupling groove 22 pushes the support 212 of the assembly 210. As the support part 212 is pushed forward, the assembly 210 moves forward and the substrate part 200 slides forward.

FIG. 4A is a side view illustrating a state in which the front part 20 of the mobile communication terminal 10 of FIG. 2A is fully opened, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of portion C of FIG. 4A. For convenience of description, FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the mobile communication terminal 10 cut in the thickness direction.

As shown in FIG. 4A, when the front part 20 slides to completely open the body part 30 after passing through the dead point, the substrate part 200 moves in line with the movement of the front part 20. It slides in the direction and is located in the 2nd position which is the most front side in the inside of the body part 30. FIG.

As shown in detail in FIG. 4B, when the substrate unit 200 is positioned at the second position, the switch 201 corresponding to the button actuator 102 of the button unit 100 is vertically disposed in series.

Therefore, the button portion 100 protrudes upwards (in the direction of the arrow 15) and protrudes above the upper surface of the lower surface body 100 than when the substrate portion 200 is in the first position. To this end, the connecting portion 103 of the button portion 100 is connected to the lower surface body 30 is formed to be elastically bent.

As the button portion 100 protrudes to a predetermined height, the user can more easily manipulate the buttons 101 of the button portion 100, and the operability of the user is improved.

When the user finishes using the terminal 10 and slides the front portion 20 to the rear side, the inclined portion 211 of the assembly 210 is gently pressed by the inclined surface 24 of the coupling groove 22. , The fastening state of the coupling body 210 and the coupling groove 22 is released.

According to the present embodiment, although the assembly 210 and the coupling groove 22 which may be coupled to the assembly 210 are employed as a detachable member for fastening or separating the front portion 20 and the substrate portion 200. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. It is understood that any form of detachable means capable of selectively fastening or detaching the front portion 20 and the substrate portion 200 by fastening or separating from each other by mechanical or electrical action may be employed as the detachable member according to the present invention. Should be.

5 is a plan view of the mobile communication terminal 10 according to the present embodiment. For convenience of description, FIG. 5 illustrates a partial configuration of the body part 30 using a dotted line.

As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of elastic bodies 300 are provided on the front end side of the substrate 200 to provide an elastic force in the sliding movement direction of the substrate 200. In FIG. 5, one end of the elastic body 300 is fixed to the front side end side surface of the substrate 200, so that the elastic body 300 can be elastically deformed in the sliding movement direction (refer to the leftmost elastic body in FIG. 5).

In addition, an inner sidewall 301 is formed in the body 30, and the other end of the elastic body 300, which is not connected to the substrate 200, contacts the inner sidewall 301.

FIG. 6A shows the substrate 200 located in the first position.

As described above, while the front portion 20 slides and moves to the dead point (see FIG. 3A) in a state where the body portion 30 is completely closed (see FIG. 2A), the substrate portion 200 is moved to the first portion. Will be located. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6A, the elastic body 300 supports the inner sidewall 301 with a predetermined strength so that the substrate 200 may be fixed to the first position.

6B shows the substrate portion 200 located in the second position.

As described above, when the front portion 20 slides to completely open the body portion 30 after passing through the dead point (see FIG. 4A), the substrate portion 200 slides to the second position (dotted lines are first The board | substrate part 200 which was in 1 position is shown. As shown in FIG. 6B, since the distance between the front end of the substrate portion 200 and the inner sidewall 301 becomes narrow in the second position, the elastic body 300 is pressed by the inner sidewall 301 and has elastic restoring force. Will be saved.

6C shows the substrate portion 200 returned to the first position.

In the state shown in FIG. 6B, when the user slides the front part 20 in the rearward direction, the coupling body 210 is separated from the coupling groove 22. At this time, the coupling between the front part 20 and the substrate part 200 is released, and the force restraining the substrate part 200 at the second position disappears. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6C, the elastic body 300 pushes the substrate portion 200 to the rear side while returning to its original form by the elastic recovery force, and the substrate portion 200 moves to the first position by the force. It will return automatically (the dotted line shows the board | substrate part 200 which was in the 2nd position).

By the above configuration, even when the front part 20 slides to the rear side in the state where the front part 20 is completely open, the substrate part 200 is interlocked with the movement and thus, the first part is first. The slide will move to the position.

According to the present embodiment, the elastic body 300 is fixed to the substrate part 200, but is not limited thereto. The elastic body 300 may be fixed to the inner sidewall 301. In addition, the elastic body 300 is not necessarily limited to the leaf spring, any type of elastic member that provides an elastic force in the moving direction of the substrate portion 200 may be applied to the elastic body 300 according to the present invention.

On the other hand, the mobile communication terminal 10 according to the present embodiment is provided with a sensor (not shown) for determining whether the coupling body 210 is fastened to the coupling groove (22).

When the combination 210 is measured to be fastened to the coupling groove 22 by the sensor, the display device 21 of the mobile communication terminal 10 is activated and operated, and the coupling 210 is coupled to the coupling groove 22. When measured as separated from, the display device 21 is deactivated. As the sensor as described above, a contact sensor for determining whether the assembly 210 is in contact with the coupling groove 22 may be used.

According to the present embodiment, the substrate 200 slides relative to the body portion 30 in conjunction with the slide movement of the front portion 20, but is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the substrate part 200 may be fixed to the body part 30, and the button part 100 may slide to the body part 30.

Based on the configuration of the above-described embodiment, while the button unit 100 in conjunction with the slide movement of the front portion 20 to slide the body portion 30 in the same direction as the moving direction of the front portion 20, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the button part 100 may be movable up and down with respect to the body part 30 according to the opening and closing operation of the front part 20.

10: mobile communication terminal
20: front part
21: display device
22: coupling groove
30: body
100: button part
101: button
102: button actuator
200: substrate portion
201: switch
210: conjugate
300: elastomer

Claims (8)

A slide type mobile communication terminal whose front portion is slidably movable relative to a body portion,
The body portion
A button unit protruding from the lower surface of the button actuator; And
A substrate part disposed below the button part and having a switch protruding from an upper surface thereof;
The button portion or the substrate portion is slideable relative to the body portion in conjunction with the slide movement of the front portion,
The button portion is formed to be movable up and down on the body portion,
The switch is disposed in parallel with the button actuator in a state in which the front part slides backward to close the body part. In the state in which the front part slides in the front side and the body part is opened, the switch is connected to the button actuator. Vertically arranged in series,
And the button unit is movable up and down with respect to the body unit according to the opening and closing operation of the front unit. The method of claim 1,
One end of the button portion is fixed to the body portion,
The substrate unit is fixed to the slide to the body portion, the slide-type mobile communication terminal, characterized in that the slide movement with respect to the body portion in the same direction as the movement direction of the front portion in conjunction with the slide movement of the front portion. 3. The method of claim 2,
The front portion is formed to be selectively fastened or separated from the substrate portion,
And the substrate portion slides in association with the front portion as the front portion slides in a state where the substrate portion and the front portion are fastened to each other. The method of claim 3,
The upper surface of the substrate portion is formed with an assembly capable of elastic movement in the vertical direction of the body portion,
The lower surface of the front portion is formed with a coupling groove to which the assembly can be fastened,
When the front portion slides forward and the coupling groove is positioned above the coupling body, the coupling body is elastically fastened to the coupling groove so that the substrate portion is coupled to the front surface portion.
And the substrate unit slides in association with the front part as the front part continues to move forward in a direction in which the coupling body is coupled to the coupling groove. 5. The method of claim 4,
The combination is formed on the upper surface of the front side of the substrate portion,
The coupling groove is a slide type mobile communication terminal, characterized in that formed on the lower surface of the rear side. 5. The method of claim 4,
The combination is a leaf spring having an inclined portion formed inclined from the front side to the rear side of the body portion, and a support portion extending vertically downward from the end of the inclined portion,
The coupling groove has an inclined surface on which the inclined portion of the assembly is seated, and a vertical surface on which the support is supported.
In the state that the combination is fastened to the coupling groove,
When the front portion moves to the front side, the support portion is supported on the vertical surface to maintain the fastening of the coupling member and the coupling groove,
And the inclined portion is pushed by the inclined surface when the front portion moves to the rear side, thereby releasing the engagement between the coupling member and the coupling groove. The method according to claim 6,
An elastic body for providing an elastic force in the slide movement direction of the substrate portion is formed on the rear end surface of the substrate portion to contact the inner side wall formed in the body portion,
The elastic body is compressed to store the elastic recovery force in the state in which the front portion fully open the body portion,
And the front portion is moved to the rear side and the assembly is separated from the coupling groove, the substrate portion slides to the rear side by the elastic recovery force. 5. The method of claim 4,
The slide type mobile communication terminal,
The combination is provided with a sensor for determining the fastening state in the coupling groove,
And the sensor is configured to operate the display device of the mobile communication terminal when it is determined by the sensor that the assembly is fastened to the coupling groove.

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